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A Florida man who allegedly thought Smokey Bear signs would make for an easy payday is now facing a much steeper price tag: up to 10 years in federal prison.
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Pro Tip: There are easier ways to make $1,900 than launching a multijurisdictional crime spree against a beloved public service mascot.

EDITED TO ADD: Either look at the end of this post description OR look in the comments for update!

• A longtime Ford Motor Company employee said his employment was terminated after he was accused of stealing a cookie from the break room.
• According to an article posted to Substack by auto industry reporter Phoebe Wall Howard, Kurt Kromm, a 60-year-old UAW member, told Shifting Gears in an exclusive interview that his employment with Ford Motor Company was terminated after he was accused of stealing a $1.95 Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookie.
• Kromm told Shifting Gears he worked for 11 years at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, which produces the company's Super Duty pickup trucks. Kromm was reportedly approached by his direct supervisor, who told him they needed to talk in the office.
• "I asked, 'What's going on?' He said, 'I don't know.' And we sat in the labor office for like half an hour, waiting. Then the union bargainer came in. He says, 'This is bad.' And I'm like, 'Bad? I haven't done anything,'" Kromm said when speaking with Shifting Gears.

>Kromm told Shifting Gears he was informed that Ford had decided to terminate his employment, with the union bargainer reportedly explaining, "they got you on video stealing a cookie."

🟦READ THE COMMENTS:

He was offered his job back, but (just informed by someone who read until the end!)

"Although Ford offered Kromm his position back at the facility, he ultimately chose to part ways with the company, beginning a new job the day after Memorial Day, per the report."